Dear Author: Romance Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and Commentary

Dear Ms. Gibson,

After Jennie did a review of “Not Another Bad Date,” I saw her grade and mentally wilted a little. In fact, I wasn’t sure I even wanted to read it at that point. But after starting, and stopping, a horrible historical - asshole hero plus virgin martyr widow! - I thought, “why not?” It can’t be any worse, right? Ouch, I think I’ll stop that line of thinking at this point. Anyway, I picked it up ::shrugged:: and dove in.

I’m just going to recap what I liked and, unfortunately, what I didn’t like. I love Zach’s interactions with Tiff. Bra shopping, make-up, boys! oh noes. He’s trying - and floundering - but trying. I found it totally understandable that Tiff doesn’t want another woman in Zach’s life. She didn’t have him in hers for years and now he’s her only parent. Any other woman would be The Other Woman to her.

As well, Adele’s interactions with Kendra make sense. They’ve not spent a great deal of time together so they’re not immediately best buds or totally in synch about what Kendra wants for breakfast. Kendra and Tiff …

This is hilarious. These women are in it to win it. Oh and if anyone has the story about the Nora Roberts/Susan Elizabeth Phillips smackdown, I want to hear about it in the comments. Even if you have to make it up, I want to hear about it.

Link here if the embedded video doesn’t work.

There’s something wonderful about these homegrown videos. My vote for the Contemporary Rita would be Holmquist Holquist but I admit to actually not having read any of the other finalists so my vote is pretty invalid but, hey, we should have a poll for the RITAs. Will start that tomorrow.

Rachel Gibson’s first book was Simply Irresistible, a secret baby romance, which featured a “charm school graduate and Southern belle extraordinaire” who runs away from being a trophy wife, has a one night stand, and goes on to build an empire (a small one, but still). I knew then that Gibson marched to the beat of her own drummer. Gibson excels at her sports heroes, particularly the hockey books (See Jane Score is my fave although Simply Irresistible was huge fun), and brings back the sports in her latest book, Not Another Bad Date.
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The day I got that first sale call is still very clear in my memory. It was the morning of February the 10th, 1996. Geraldo was on television, and I was wearing my pink sweats and getting reading for my three minute workout on my treadmill.

I had been writing and submitting my work for over six years. I’d completed four full manuscripts and a partial of three chapters and a synopsis. I’d racked up around twenty-five rejections from every major publisher in …

Dear Ms. Gibson,

Though I have read all of your books, in all honesty I’m not sure why. I liked your first book, Simply Irresistible, quite a bit, and loved your second, Truly, Madly Yours. Since then, your books have ranged from mediocre (I show five B- grades in my book log, which goes back to 2002) to something less than mediocre (Daisy’s Back in Town and last year’s Tangled Up in You barely eked out C range grades from me).

Your latest book is the last in a quartet about four female friends finding love. The series is based on a rather contrived conceit: each of the women writes in a different genre: mystery, romance, true crime, fantasy (the heroine of Not Another Bad Date, Adele Harris, is the fantasy writer). It’s not actually the conceit itself that has felt contrived in the series, but the way that each author mirrors rather stereotypical views of the genre she writes in. This was particularly aggravating in Tangled Up in You, with the true crime-writing heroine; she constantly wanted to pepper-spray everyone. That may explain in part why I disliked that book so much. Thankfully, Adele in …

Dear Ms Gibson,

In my last letter to you, I said I wasn’t as happy with I’m In No Mood For Love as I have with lots of your previous books. I’m a much happier camper after reading this book. I like the heroine, I like the hero, I like the heroine’s maloccluded cat. Maddie and Mick have a good reason to get to know each other and a really good reason to break up. I just wish a few things had been different.

Maddie is the third author in the group of friends who live in Boise who, one by one, are finding love. Her specialty is true crime and generally she spends her time interviewing her subjects while they’re shackled and handcuffed to the tables between them and Maddie. She’s heard some true sickos tell her all about how and why they did what they did and also what they’d like to do to her. Fun stuff. But for her latest book, she’s decided to write about something closer to home and about …

Dear Ms Gibson,

I’d have to say that most of your books have worked for me on some level and a few are favorites. But unfortunately while I enjoyed parts of this book, it doesn’t equal your past efforts.

On the day of her best friend’s wedding, Clare Wingate is shocked to find her metrosexual fiance playing cowboy with the Sears repairman. After drinking all day to drown her sorrows, she wakes up the next morning almost naked, in a hotel bed and discovers she spent the night with an old childhood acquaintance. Sebastian Vaughn just happened to be in town that night and was amused to find Clare slamming back drinks in a hotel bar. After she poured out her problems, he poured her into her hotel bed then realized he was too tipsy to drive home. Some demon makes him tease Clare about what they might have done and they part in anger. But since Sebastian’s father works for Clare’s mother, they don’t stay apart for long.

Neither is looking for a romantic relationship though each is attracted to the other. But while Clare’s romance book writing career keeps her in Boise, Sebastian’s investigative …